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Phil Vischer
Phillip Roger Vischer (born June 16, 1966) is an American animator, puppeteer, writer, voice actor and songwriter known for creating the computer-animated video series VeggieTales alongside Mike Nawrocki. He provides the voice of Bob the Tomato in the series, and also would do the voice of several characters, including Pongo, Timon, Rudolph, Snoopy, and Noah's Dad. Background and career Phil Vischer was born June 16, 1966 in Muscatine, Iowa and grew-up in Chicago, Illinois. He attended St. Paul Bible College and was involved in the puppet club where he met Mike Nawrocki. Vischer originally aimed to go to film school after Bible college but instead wound up working for Amoco and Montgomery Ward as a truckdriver afterwards. Vischer founded GRAFx Studios 1989 in order to produce animated commercials and logos. That same year he animated and directed Mr. Cuke's Screen Test featuring Larry the Cucumber. In early 1993, he teamed up with Mike Nawrocki and started Big Idea Productions (now Big Idea Entertainment) to create VeggieTales. From 1993 to 2002, Vischer led the company as lead director and writer. In 2003 (after the release of Jonah) Big Idea went bankrupt and was sold to Classic Media (now DreamWorks Classics). Phil then left the company. In 2005, he started Jellyfish Labs, a creative workshop where he produces faith-based projects. In 2007 Vischer expanded the company by launching JellyTelly. From 2010 to 2014, Vischer produced What's In The Bible, a direct-to-DVD video series using puppetry and animation to present biblical material in a news-broadcast format. Vischer still works on VeggieTales as a voice actor, under a contract by DreamWorks Classics. He currently lives in Wheaton, Illinois with his wife Lisa and two daughters, Sydney and Shelby, and his son, Jeremy. Since 2012, Vischer has hosted a weekly podcast discussing life in what he characterizes as a post-Christian America. The podcast, co-hosted by Christianity Today editor Skye Jethani and actress Christian Taylor, regularly ranks in the top 100 podcasts. "Veggies" voiced by Phil Vischer As the founder of VeggieTales, Vischer has voiced hundreds of characters. These are the most notable. *Bob the Tomato *Archibald Asparagus *Pa Grape *Mr. Lunt *Jimmy Gourd *Mr. Nezzer *Philippe Pea *Scallion #1 *Tom Grape *Grandpa George *Phil Winkelstein *Apollo Gourd *Goliath *Percy Pea *Dad Pea *Dad Carrot *Annie's Dad *Phillip Jr. *Sheep #1 Other characters voiced by Vischer * Pongo and some of his Puppies from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" * Timon from The Lion King * Oliver, Stepney, and Terence the Tractor from Thomas & Friends. * Noah's Dad, Papa Terry Byrd, Phillip Byrd, Uncle Lee, and Various characters from Noah Byrd's creativity * Papa Smurf, Hefty Smurf, Handy Smurf, Chef Smurf, and Various Smurfs, from The Smurfs * Various characters (Such as Rudolph and Santa Claus) from the classic Rankin/Bass Christmas specials * Theodore Tugboat, Foduck, Northumberland, Phillip and Filmore, Benjamin Bridge, Donald Dock, and Chimey from Theodore Tugboat * Bert Raccoon, Ralph Raccoon, George Raccoon, Cedric Sneer, and Schaeffer from The Raccoons Published works Books by Vischer include the following: * Junior's Colors (1997) * How Many Veggies? (1997) * Pa Grape's Shapes (1997) * Bob & Larry's ABC's (1997) * Archibald's Opposites (1998) * Time for Tom (1998) * The Story of Flibber-o-Loo (1997) * A Snoodle's Tale (2004) * Sidney & Norman: A Tale of Two Pigs (2006) * Me, Myself, & Bob (2006) * 47 Beavers On the Big Blue Sea (2007) * Pirate in Training (2012) (co-writing with Karen Poth) See Also * Mike Nawrocki